Container and resiliently supported closure member therefor



June 10, 1958' c. B. KINLEY 2,838,213

- CONTAINER AND RESILIENTLY SUPPORTED CLOSURE MEMBER THEREFOR Filed Aug.12, 1954 INVENTOR CLIFFORD B. K/NLEY ATTORNEYS United States PatentCONTAINER AND RESILIENTLY SUPPORTED CLOSURE MEMBER THEREFOR Clifford B.Kinley, Coral Gables, Fla.

Application August 12, 1954, Serial No. 449,475

2 Claims. (Cl. 222-498) The present invention relates to dispensingdevices and is more particularly concerned with a novel container andclosure therefor whereby the said container may be readily andpositively opened or closed for selective dispensing. In particular, thepresent invention comprises an improvement in the structure originallydisclosed and claimed in my prior U. S. Patent No. 2,620,098, issuedDecember 2, 1952, for Bottle Cap with Outlet Means and Having aResilientlySupported Closure Memher.

As was discussed in my said prior patent, it is known to providecontainers having a cap defining a normally closed outlet port which mayconveniently be opened by pressing a resilient element located adjacentthereto. For

the most part, theclosures of-this general type have, of

necessity, included a removable cap with which the resilient element hasbeen operatively-associated. Without such a cap, or without appropriateretaining means on the container itself, the closure member or resilientelement would not, in fact, stay on the container. sures of this generaltype have, in the past, ordinarily been capable of placement upon acontainer in a single predetermined position only, and deviation inposition from the said single predetermined position has eitherseriously affected the operability .of'the closure device or has, infact, rendered it completely inoperative. This often proves to be apronounced disadvantage in dispensing applications wherein it isdesired, or necessary, to have the closure device assume differentpositions with respect to a container. Thus, while prior art closures ofthe type disclosed in my prior U. S. Patent No. 2,620,098 have, forthemost part, operated in a relatively efficient man ner, the operationhas in fact been limited in the-foregoing respects because of theinherent design of the clo sure member. The improved container andclosure of-the present invention serves to overcome such limitations inpermissible operation.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide animproved form of resilient closure member cooperating preferably with acontainer structureof novel design to permit selective dispensing fromthe said container structure.

Another object Of the present invention resides in the provision of anovel container having improved closure means.

A further object of the present invention resides in the provisionof aresilient closure member which may serve to open .or close a containerwithout being removed therefrom. In this respect, it is one purposeofthepresent invention to provide such a .closure member whichsis so designedthat it will not slip off a container during operation and which will,in fact, hemaintainedin position by the resilient forces exerted by theclosure member itself.

Still another object of the present invention resides-in the provision.of a container defining an outlet port and having a readily removable,resilient closure member of novel construction cooperating with thesaidport.

A Still further object .of -.th e, present invention ,resides in her ovsl cn of a no el cont i r and or l su e memberwhicfhmay b manufacturedinexpensively byknown echniques.

Further, clo- It is still another object of the present invention toprovide a novel container cooperating with a resilient closure memberplaced directly upon the said novel container. In this respect it shouldbe noted that in accordance with the present invention the said closuremember may be placed at a plurality of positions with respect to saidcontainer, and may in fact be rotated through a full 360 degrees aboutthe longitudinal axis of the said container without afiecting theopening or closing functions of the said closure member.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as thedescription proceeds. In essence theimproved container and closure ofthe present invention preferably comprises a container defining arestricted outlet port. In practice, the said port may be integrallyformed as a portion of the container in a part thereof which is perhapsrestricted in cross-dimension, such as the neck of a bottle orcollapsible tube. The said outlet port further defines either a rim orgroove adjacent thereto, or other appropriate abutment means, whichserves to cooperate with the closure of the present invention thereby tohold the said closure in an open or closed position depending upon thedirection of pressure selectively and temporarily applied topredetermined portions of the said closure member tocause operationthereof. The closure member itself preferably comprises a substantiallyfiat portion defining an outlet aperture and an indent member adjacentthereto. A portion at least of the said closure is of resilient materialwhereby the said closure member may be located in plural predeterminedand selective positions with respect to the outletvport of saidcontainer. The closure member is further so constructed that it ismaintained in position upon the container device by resilient forces ofthe closure member itself and in this respect, the said improved closuremember of the present invention preferably defines a pair of spaced sideflanges or an elongated channel bearing upon opposed surfaces of acontainer whereby the said closure is prevented from slipping oif thesaid container during normal operation thereof. The said closure memberis further so construct- .ed that it may be placed at a plurality ofdistinct positions with respect to the outlet port of said containerwithout detracting from the operation of the said closure.

The foregoing objects, advantages and construction of my device will bemore readily seen from the following description and accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 represents a portion of a novel container in accordance withone form of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a resilient closure member inaccordance with one form of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a container and closure member ofthe types shown in Figures 1 and '2 wherein the said container is closedby said closure member;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a container and closure member ofthe type shown in Figures 1 and 2 in which said container is opened bysaid closure member; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a resilient closuremember in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to the several figures, like numerals of which refer tolike parts throughout, it will be seen that acontainer in accordancewith the present inventioncomprises a main contents holding portion 10.which may :take :the form of a bottle, collapsible tube, etc., and oneend of the said container portion 10 is preferably reduced'incrosssection to define a neck 11. The said neck 11 further defines anoutstanding annular collar 12 at a position removed from the free endthereof, and the saidfree' end of neck 11 is in turn closed except for asubstantially completely surrounded by an upstanding ridge-like portion.While the collar 12 and rim 14 may be formed integrally on the container10, it should be noted that, in accordance with the present invention,the portions 12, 13 and 14 may be formed, for instance, as raisedportions on the external surface of a removable cap whereby the presentinvention may be practiced in conjunction with other forms of containerssuch as conventional bottles or jars which normally require screw typeclosure caps of known internal configuration.

Referring now to Figure 2, it will be seen that the closure member ofthe present invention, serving to cooperate with a container or capstructure such as has been described above, preferably comprises a firstsubstantially flat portion or member 15 defining an outlet aperture 16therein. Adjacent the said aperture 16 and spaced therefrom on the lowersurface of the member 15 is a downwardly projecting indent 17,preferably defining a substantially spheroidal or smoothly curved lowersurface. The member 15 further defines a front portion or flange 18extending downwardly and substantially at right angles to the saidportion 15 and preferably'integrally formed therewith. The sides of themember 15 further define downwardly extending side portions or flanges19, again formed at substantially right angles to the portion 15 and atright angles to the front portion 18. i

The portions 19 act as flange members extending adjacent opposedsurfaces or sides of the neck 11 of container 10 and serve to restrictthe lateral movement of the closure member with respect to the saidcontainer device. Thus the portions 15, 18 and 19 define a semibox-likestructure capable of surrounding the neck 11 on three sides andcontaining an outlet aperture 16 and a downwardly projecting indent 17within the confines thereof.

Opposite the front portion 18' and attached to the portion 15,preferably by integral construction, is an elongated resilient member 20having a pair of spaced elongated portions 21 defining a smoothly curvedsurface 22 therebetween. While Figure 2 indicates that the portions 21may extend outwardly so that their spacing is greater than the width ofresilient member 20, the con struction of this portion of my closuremember may be varied in accordance with the dimensions of the container.Thus, portions 21 may be formed as linear extensions of member 20, andsurface 22 will then be formed so as to define an are having a chordless in dimension than the width of member 20.

In practice, the closure member shown in Figure 2 may be of one-piececonstruction and may be fabricated of materials such as spring brass,steel, or other resilient materials such as known plastics. It iscontemplated, however, that the said closure member shown in Figure 2may be formed of several independent portions joined together, and whenthis latter construction is in fact utilized only the portion 20 need beof resilient material.

As will appear subsequently, the curved surface 22 is adapted to conformto the external peripheral surface of the neck 11 of container 10 (or tothe external surface of a cap member placed upon a container ofconventional configuration) and the said surface 22 and spaced portions21 are normally located below the collar 12. When so placed upon thecontainer, the closure member is thus maintained in place by theresilient force exerted by the portion 20, and a stable configuration isachieved by the confining functions of portion 18 and flanges 19adjacent 4 the upper end of the neck 11, by the spaced members 21 andthe curved portion 22 acting upon the neck 11 below the collar 12, andby the action of indent 17 in respect to rim or ridge 14.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, it will be seen that when the closuremember is placed upon the container 10, the curved portion 22 fitsthereon below the collar 12 and the front portion 18 is so located withrespect to the upper end of the neck 11 that the downwardly extendingindent 17 is seated within the rim 14 thereby to close off the outletport 13. Because of the substantially spheroidal shape of the indent 17,the said indent is seated tightly within the rim 14 and this conditionis 'maintained even though there may be some variation in the tensionand alignment in the overall resilient closure member. To open thecontainer 10, pressure may be exerted upon the portion 20 with the thumbor finger, in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 3, whereby thesaid flat portion 15 and the indent 17 are urged away from the interiorof rim 14 and port 13. The indent 17 is thus slid over the top of theupstanding rim 14 until it snaps into position adjacent the externalperiphery thereof, as is shown in Figure 4. When such a condition isattained, the outlet aperture 16 in the closure member is moved intoalignment with the outlet port 13 in container 10, and this position isagain positively maintained by the resilient forces of the portion 20acting via curved portion 22 upon the neck 11 and via the indent 17 uponthe external periphery of the upstanding rim 14. In the closurepositions shown in both Figures 3 and 4, the side members or flanges 19and the spaced elongated portions 21 may bear upon the complementaryportions respectively of the neck 11 adjacent thereto to prevent theresilient closure member from snapping completely off of the saidcontainer. Thus, the closure member of the present invention is, by itsvery construction, retained upon the container 10. When the container 10is opened by the closure member, as is shown in Figure 4, it may bereclosed by exerting a further pressure upon the downwardly extendingfront portion 18, as shown by the arrow in Figure 4, whereby the indent17 is again caused to ride over the upstanding edge of rim 14 and toseat itself within the rim 14 and over the outlet port 13.

Thus, the container and closure structure of the present invention areof such construction that, by the pressure of thumb or finger, the saidcontainer may be quickly and positively opened or closed and the openedor closed state will be positively maintained until an opposing pressureis applied. Again, it should be noted that the closure member holdsitself upon the container by the particular construction thereof and bythe inherent tension therein. In practice, the spring tension of theoverall closure member or of the resilient portion 20, should be suchthat the closure member can he slipped over the neck of the container orover the cap device utilized and under the collar 12 without exceedingthe elastic limit of the material, but at the same time the said closuremember should have sutlicient inherent tension to hold it tightly overthe outlet port 13 when it is in fact in a closed position.

Inasmuch as the outlet port 13 in the container 10 or in a cap deviceutilized in conjunction with a conventional container is locatedsubstantially centrally of the top of the said container and further,inasmuch as the portion 22 conformsto a substantially large curvedsurface and is maintained in place adjacent the container 10 byresilient force only, it should be noted that the closure member is notrestricted to any predetermined position and may in fact be rotatedthrough 360 degrees with respect to the neck 11 without affecting theopening and/or closing functions of the said closure member.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it shouldbe noted that many variations can be made in the container and/orclosure structure without departing from the spirit of my invention.Thus, referring to Figure 5, it will be. seen that rather than'providingthe side members or flanges 19 which are adapted to bear upon theexternal surfaces of neck 11, as has been discussed in reference toFigure 2, the function of the said side members or flanges 19 may beprovided by an elongated channel formed in the flat portion of myclosure member. As is illustrated in Figure 5, the said channel may beformed by pressing a raised elongated portion or channel 23 into the topof member 15, the said portion 23 preferably defining elongated curvedsides 24 and 25 as shown. The distance between the said sides 24 and 25is preferably so chosen that the raised portion 23 may slide freely withrespect to the rim 14 located adjacent the free end of the containershown in Figure 1. Thus, in this particular embodiment of my invention,lateral movement of my closure member is prevented by the pressure ofsides 24 and 25 upon the external periphery of the rim 14 rather than bythe pressure of side portions 19 upon the external surfaces of neck 11.Thus, the closure member will again be retained by its inherentconstruction upon the container, as has been discussed previously.

It will be readily obvious to those skilled in the art that rather thanpressing portion 23 into member 15 whereby curved sides 24 and 25 areformed, the portion 23 may in fact take the form of a truestraight-sided channel raised above the major plane of portion 15. Evenfurther modifications will suggestthemselves to those skilled in theart. Thus, rather than providing an outwardly projecting collar 12 onthe neck 11, as has been shown in Figure l, thefunction of the saidcollar may be performed by an inwardly extending annular groove.Moreover, rather than providing an upstanding rim 14 adjacent the outletport 13, a depressed circular groove may be provided in the top of theneck 11 surrounding the outlet port 13. Each of these modifications instructure will still permit a complete 360 degree rotation of theclosure member with respect to the neck 11 or the cap closing acontainer 10, and will at the same time retain the closure member inplace with respect to the neck 11 in both an open and closed position.As has been mentioned previously, the closure member may be of one-piececonstruction or may in fact comprise several pieces interconnected withone another. While the resilient portion of the closure member has beenshown as a continuously downwardly extending portion, the resilientcharacteristics of the overall closure member may be altered as desiredby changing the shape of the said member 20 and in this respect, forinstance, a loop portion may be formed adjacent either the top or bottomof the portion 20 to give additional resiliency, as is shown in my priorPatent No. 2,620,098.

Again, While it is preferred to utilize the closure member of thepresent invention in conjunction with a substantially cylindricalcontainer, the container may in fact take a plurality of otherconfigurations and may indeed be of square cross-section withoutdetracting from the inherent operation of the closure member. Stillfurther modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in theart, and it is to be understood that the foregoing description is meantto be illustrative only and not limitative of the true scope of myinvention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A dispensing device comprising a container having a neck defining anoutlet port substantialy centrally located in a free end thereof, firstabutment means integrally formed on said neck and surrounding saidoutlet port, second abutment means integrally formed on said neck andsurrounding said neck at a location spaced from said free end, a closurecomprising a substantially flat structural means adapted to seatselectively over said outlet port thereby to close said container andbeing further adapted to bear-selectively upon a portion of said firstabutment means whereby said outlet port and said outlet aperture arebrought into alignment thereby to open said container, said flatstructural portion having downwardly extending first and second parallelflanges slidably bearing simultaneously on first and second oppositesurfaces of said neck adjacent said outlet port, said flat structuralportion including a downwardly extending third flange selectivelybearing on a third surface of said neck between said first and secondflanges, said closure further including an elongated resilient memberaifixed at one of its ends to said flat structural portion and defininga pair, of spaced elongated portions at the other of its ends, saidspaced elongated portions being located adjacent opposing surfaces ofsaid neck and defining an arcuate bearing surface therebetween whichbears resiliently upon the external periphery of said neck between saidfirst and second flanges below said second abutmentmeans on a fourthsurface of said neck opposite to said third surface.

2.v A dispensing device comprising a container having a substantiallycylindrical neck, said neck defining a substantially circular free endhaving an outlet port of restricted dimension substantially centrallylocated in said circular free end, first substantially circular abutmentmeans completely surrounding said outlet port and located on the saidfree end .of said neck entirely within the circular periphery thereof,second substantially circular abutment means completely surrounding saidsubstantially cylindrical neck and located at a position removed fromthe free end thereof, a closure member comprising a substantiallyrectangular closure surface slidable substantially in a single plane andhaving flanges extending substantially orthogonal thereto on three sidesthereof whereby two or said flanges are substantially parallel to oneanother, the third of said flanges being disposed at substantially rightangles to each of said two parallel flanges and being adapted to abut asurface of said neck between said two parallel flanges, said flangesbeing adapted to restrict the slidable movement of said rectangularclosure surface with respect to the said free end of said neck tosubstantially a single direction in said single plane, said rectangularclosure surface defining an indent member and an outlet aperturecolinear with one another on a line substantially equidistant from andparallel to said two substantially parallel flanges whereby said indentmember may bear upon preselected portions of said first circularabutment means thereby to align selectively said outlet port and saidoutlet aperture, and an elongated resilient member attached at one ofits ends to the fourth side of said substantially rectangular closuresurface and defining at the other of its ends an arcuate bearing surfaceresiliently bearing upon the external periphery of said substantiallycylindrical neck on a surface of said neck opposite the surface ofabutment of said third flange and adjacent said second substantiallycircular abutment means, whereby said rectangular closure surface andelongated resilient member are restricted in axial movement butunrestricted in circumferential movement with respect to said neck bythe combined actions of said first and second abutment means, saidindent members, said flanges, and said arcuate bearing surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS771,615 Dey Oct. 4, 1904 1,990,863 Geach Feb. 12, 1935 2,492,917 CourtotDec. 27, 1949 2,590,437 Maves Mar. 25, 1952 2,620,098 Kinley Dec. 2,1952

